Audio/Video Podcasts: Pros and Cons for Adult Learners
This week,
EDACE 765 is blogging about Podcasts. I will outline some advantages and disadvantages
to consider when incorporating Podcasts into higher education. Overall, I think
that the advantages for this technology significantly outweigh the
disadvantages, and that this is an emerging technology in higher education that
is worth exploring more!
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| Image from https://americannegotiationinstitute.com/interviews/ |
King and Cox (2011) acknowledge
that higher education “has been slower to adopt this most powerful application
of podcasting” compared to childhood K-12 educators that have been applying
podcasting creatively for quite some time (King and Gura, 2009; King and Cox,
2011, p.39). Despite slow-adoption, podcasting is now becoming very popular,
and thus is a technology that educators should strongly consider implementing into
their curriculums. Check out this recentarticle from Escarcha (2019) entitled “10 essential higher ed podcasts for 2019”that outlines some of the most popular higher education podcasts leaders within
higher education are listening to.
To begin, let’s consider the many
uses for Podcasts in higher education. At the most basic level, Podcasts facilitate
asynchronous learning of lecture material, by making the key content available
prior to and after class sessions. King and Cox (2011) describe that asynchronous
audio and video communication can be used for a variety of purposes, including
expounding on course content, providing individualized and collective feedback
to students, and transmitting peer feedback and critique. For ESL students or students
with specific learning needs, such as hearing or attention deficits, these
students benefit from playing back recordings so that they can review sections
that may have been difficult for them. Podcasts not only benefit disadvantaged
students, but are highly regarded by most students. In my recent interview with
Dr. Nguyen, a Family Medicine faculty member, we discussed how most medical
students at the School of Medicine where she teaches are opting to learn material
by watching or listening to podcasts rather than attending the lectures in
person. Podcasts allow students flexibility in when and how they learn. Evans
(2008) points out that students often use podcasts to review difficult parts, while
doing other activities, or to make up content if they are absent from class.
Podcasts should aim to be more than
just a lecture webcast (King and Cox, 2011). While lecture webcasts are
typically the simplest to employ by posting the audio or video recording after
the in-class session without any editing, students benefit more from a condensed
version of the didactic lecture that emphasizes the most difficult points for
students to understand, summary points, and critical definitions (King and Cox,
2011). King and Cox (2011) affirm that “slicing lectures into smaller segments
is also efficient because faculty are not spending time creating separate content”
(p.37). Educator-created podcasts take on many different formats such frequently
asked questions (FAQs), tutorials, or as primary information for a flipped classroom
(King and Cox, 2011). Additionally, there are endless, creative ways to use
Podcasting for student assignments. Examples include on-demand presentations, reflection
or position podcasts, interviews with experts in the field, review of the life
of a historical figure, tutorials for skill-based content, and real-life applications
where students apply what they are learning to solve a problem or design a
project (King and Cox, 2011).
Many of the perceived disadvantages
of podcasting are related to the equipment, software and/or infrastructure required
to creatively design and share your podcast. The good news is, however, that
access to low-cost, easy to use products are becoming increasingly available to
the general public and are used frequently in everyday life, which reduces or
minimizes some of these barriers to getting started. For example, video and
audio recording equipment is standardly available on most laptop computers,
tablets, and smart phones. Students and educators that are familiar with taking
video with their phones can use this same function to develop a podcast. Additionally,
the iPhone comes with the Voice Memos application that can be used to record
high-quality audio soundbites. Many higher education learning management
systems are also equipped with video recording software, such as Zoom, that can
be used to record interviews or group discussions.
Students and faculty will also require editing
software. Like recording software, there are now countless free or low-cost editing
software available for download for computers or as apps for smart phone or
tablet use. Editing a video or audio files is a skill that will take learners
time. Some learners become frustrated with learning a new technology on their
own. However, to mitigate frustrations, many video-editing programs provide video
tutorials that are designed to assist learners that are new to media editing.
Students or educators can use these tutorials to guide their own learning when
it comes to editing their digital media. Check out this tutorial to learn about basic equipment and software to get started
Lastly, some learners perceive
posting their podcasts as a barrier. Slow internet upload/download speeds
combined with the large size of the file can make it somewhat of a challenge to
share the podcast once it is created. Students and educators should decide whether
the podcast will be posted in private or public space. The same privacy concerns
discussed in my prior postings about discussion boards and blogs apply here for
podcasting as well. Educators and students must also be aware of copyright and
legal issues when it comes to public podcasts. For example, podcasters must
have permission to use copyrighted images, videos, music, and sound effects. Creative
commons is a database available online from websites such as FreeplayMusic and Freesound that offers copyright-free music and sound effects that students
can use when editing their digital media files.
References:
Escarcha, K. (2019, April 5th). “10 essential higher
ed podcasts for 2019.” EAB. Retrieved from https://www.eab.com/daily-briefing/2018/02/15/5-essential-higher-ed-podcasts-for-2018,
accessed on 21 April 2019.
Evans, C. (2008). The effectiveness of m-learning in the
form of podcast revisions lectures in higher education. Computers & Education, 50, 491-498.
King and Cox. (2011). The
Professor’s Guide to Taming Technology: Leveraging Digital Media, Web 2.0, and
More for Learning. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Nguyen, D. (2019, April 15). Personal Interview.
Great post - I connected with what you wrote about having lecture available before and after the class sessions as a benefit to podcasting. I can only agree with you on the value this can provide learners. I recall one undergraduate class where my professor was severely lagging behind the other professors in the department in the technology realm. She did not record anything, yet expected students to write what she taught verbatim on the exam - or you would lose points. I began bringing a tape recorder to class early on and recorded every session. It was a valuable resource for me when I was reviewing for the exam. However, I am a firm believer that if you are trying to trick students, rather than teach them, you are not in the right career. Having an online format for the lessons would have helped many students, and anytime someone would ask about how the class was, I told them to be sure to bring a recording device. I am sure it is the only way that I ended up with a good grade in the course. Now, if only I would have posted them online, I would have been an ‘early adopter’ in the podcast world!
ReplyDeleteSara - Thanks for your comment. You bring back so many memories about tape recorders in class. I never had a tape recorder, but there are plenty of times that I probably should have!!
DeleteIt's funny that we are blogging about this topic, as just yesterday I used my iPhone Voice Memos app to record a guest speaker for one of my peers that had to miss for medical reasons. I was surprised that video/audio was not already available for the speaker, demonstrating that how in many ways we are still living in "the dark ages." Luckily, students and educators alike have more ready access to recording devices that can be used spur of the moment, like in my case yesterday.
I like your point about difficulties that could be faced by the students. Some students will disengage quickly when faced with new unfamiliar technology. As some of the technophobes resist technology, they may be some of the same people with older computers or slow internet and this can make things even more frustrating to the student user. I dont mind technology and can catch on somewhat easily most of the time, but I still find some issues with some things (and have to ask my kid for help!). Additionally, for whatever reason, in my house, our internet is sketchy on Sundays. I dont know if others in the neighborhood are all using the internet on Sunday or what, but you can count on slow or laggy internet issues on Sundays. As such, we all have to get our homework done for Mondays well before Sunday, as you never know what the weekend will bring!
ReplyDeleteKsu1msms - You bring up great points about the technological divide and equitable access to user-friendly technologies. I think that one of the most significant considerations for educators is how much time they want their students to spend with hands-on learning by creating through technology versus time spent reading and learning in other ways. It would be easy to forget how much time it takes a new user to figure out how to use technology and assign too much other reading/work to complete that the student feels overwhelmed.
DeleteGreat post! I agree there are advantages to using podcasting in higher education. According to study results by Hill, Nelson, France, and Woodland, 2012, “the opportunity to access podcasts at home or on the go, engage with the content by making written notes, and the ability to repeat podcast in order to retrieve information, clarify issues and high knowledge gaps” (As cited in Palenque, 2016, p. 5). It is advantageous to have the ability to access podcasts anywhere the adult learner is. While pursuing my Bachelor’s Degree, I had several professors who were not tech savvy but expected their students to catch everything they said. So I invested in a handheld recorder and brought it to those classes. I then used those lecture recordings with my notes when preparing for exams. If my professors had websites for these courses, I would have been able to share my “lecture casts,” but because this was at the end of the 1990s. This technology had not been introduced yet.
ReplyDeleteReferences
Palenque, S.M. (2016). The power of podcasting: Perspectives on pedagogy. Journal of Instructional Research. 5(2016), 4-7.
Colleen - you make great points. Thank you for your post. It seems like you, Sara, and I had similar experiences with tape recorders in class! I agree that learning management systems or class websites/wikis make it much easier for students to share and collaborate in online spaces (and thus facilitates learning outside of the dedicated class time).
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I wish I would have had instructors who used podcasts when I was doing my undergraduate, my history class comes to mind right away. I am a visual learner and my History professor was a storyteller lecturer. He sat in front of the class and told us a 4-hour story each class session. I invested in one of those micro-recorders, but it was not a perfect solution with students shuffling and other noises. Writing notes was tough but necessary chore for me and a podcast would have assisted greatly. King and Cox (2011, p. 37-38) mention instructors creating podcasts and slicing a 2-hour lecture into smaller segments delivering critical content. By doing this instructors can create a library of information accessible by students and even useful for the instructor in future class instruction.
ReplyDeleteI think luckily most of the disadvantages are being mitigated over time as technology advances. As you mentioned videos can now be taken over phones or tablets. Software is getting easier to use if you can find the one the works right for your skill level. I even found an app (HandBrake) that assists with compressing a file to ease uploading it when there is size limitations.
Thank you for the reflections.
King and Cox. (2011). The professor’s guide to taming technology: Leveraging digital media, web 2.0, and more for learning. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
https://handbrake.fr/
Great blog post. It was both engaging and easy to read. One point I had failed to consider when drafting my blog post was the socio/economic side of technology integration. Not everyone has continuous (or any) internet access required to implement these technologies. Citing several studies, Merriam and Beirema (2014) stated that only 12% of the world's population have a home a computer (p. 7). Overall technological literacy must always be a concern when trying to implement a new technology. A quick survey at the beginning of the class would be great way to see what type of access everyone has to the new technology as well as everyone's comfort level with its implementation.
ReplyDeleteMerriam, S.B., & Bierema, L.L. (2014). Adult Learning: Linking theory and practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.